Athletic or other activewear shoes of a conventional construction generally have three or four separate parts. First, such shoes are generally provided with an outsole made of a durable material and which extends across the lower surface of the shoe. A midsole is joined to the outside to provide a cushioning layer to the wearer's foot. Usually, an upper formed of leather, synthetics or other materials is joined to the midsole. In many conventional structures, an insole is further positioned between the midsole and the wearer's foot for additional cushioning.
The midsoles of these conventional constructions have two undesirable characteristics. First, they have the property of deforming over a large area of surface when a downward force is impressed on them. Second, the midsoles are affixed to the shoes and therefore customers can make no choice in the midsole's cushionability without selecting another shoe. Thus, conventional midsoles do not offer independent suspension or deformation of various selected areas thereof, and further are suited to only a particular weight class or cushionability preference of wearers.
The need for a midsole having a plurality of cushioning elements, each demonstrating an individual suspension and deforming independently from the remaining elements has generally been met by the custom midsole as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,483, Mar. 29, 1988, to Lin, and assigned to the present assignee. However, a need has arisen for a midsole which can be better tailored for specific support. Moreover, it is desirable to provide a see-through window that allows observation of the midsole. Unfortunately, a window in the sole of a shoe may result in weakening of that portion of the sole. Thus there is a need for a custom midsole that may reinforce the weakened window portion of a sole, while also counteracting the tendency of a wearer to pronate or supinate.